Projected apocalypse scenarios are the new currency of politics. Right-wingers like to talk about the immigration apocalypse, fiscal meltdowns, and terrorism. Left-wingers harp just as fiercely on climate change, ebola outbreaks, and income inequality. According to a recent poll, Democrats think climate change is as potentially dangerous as the threat of terrorism:

Sixty-eight percent of Democrats see climate change as a “major threat” to the U.S., compared with just 25 percent of Republicans, according to Pew Research Center data released Thursday. That 43-point spread is the largest division in views over any threat that Pew asked about in the poll, which was conducted earlier this month.

The data also show that Democrats consider the threat of climate change to be on par with that of the radical group ISIS. Sixty-five percent of Democrats see the group as a major threat to the U.S., compared with 78 percent of Republicans.

It’s obnoxious really. Politicians talk about hope. But they gain and maintain power entirely on the basis of fear. Do what we say, sheeple. We’ll protect you from all the dangers that could end the world if you don’t do what we tell you.

Is it any surprise that my generation has ceased to believe anything that any politician says about potential dangers? Why were so many people still in New Orleans when Katrina hit? They had warning (from the government), but they didn’t leave. Because politicians have completely eroded our trust.

Y2K may have been the last time we believed. The civil government said Y2K could end the world. It didn’t. It didn’t really do anything actually.

Is climate change a major threat to the world? Is terrorism a major threat? Whether or not they are, I’m going to think long and hard before I do what any politician is recommending. I’m not going to be ruled by fear.